If you wanted to be an amazing football player, you may look up to David Beckham. If you wanted to be an NBA Allstar, you might try emulate the success of Michael Jordan. If talk show host was your idea of the greatest job in the world, I’m sure you’d fancy a sit down with Oprah Winfrey.
I believe that if you’re passionate about something, you should dream big, put it down in writing and then just get on with it. With a little bit of luck and plenty of preparation, the stars will align and provided you’re doing your part, you’ll get to where you need to be.
In my opinion, one of the best and most successful South African photographers is Christine Meintjes. I quote, “She’s a legend.” End Quote. Not only because her work is amazing, but because she is of the mindset that sharing is caring. She is supportive of the likes of people like me that want to follow their dreams and also become photographers. She offers a workshop which I’ve been fortunate enough to attend, but above and beyond that, she is the co-founder of Kikiwhich encourages photographers to Learn, Share and Care about what each other are up to. They arrange guest speakers in the industry and offer all kinds of amazing insights to photographers who want to learn more about this amazing industry. If you're interested in photography, you should certainly be checking it out.
Other photographers further afield with a similar mindset whom I admire are Jasmine Star, David Jay , Nadia Meli, Henry Chen and Chase Jarvis. Go Check them out.
Yes, I am rambling. I get it :) The point of this post.
A few years ago, I met Karin Coe. At the time, we worked together at an online community – Over the years we both seemed to be steered into the direction of wanting to be photographers and cheered each other along as we started to get sideline jobs, shooting for various people or events. We’ve met up to exchange knowledge, been to various workshops, talks and photography meet-ups together.
I think we both agree - In the world of photography, it’s just comforting to have someone in a similar position to you. Someone else that gets that things at times are amazing and other times overwhelming. Someone that understands that getting the ISO, aperture or shutter speed wrong, well, it can happen and it’s all part of the learning experience.
While reading a blog post by photographers Carmen & Ingo – They discussed the importance of getting in front of the camera every now and then, to get a feel for what your clients are experiencing.
So, in the interests of ongoing education, I spoke with Karin and told her I wanted to be photographed. It was great because,
1.) It was going to give me a feel for being photographed for an hour or two.
2.) It was going to make Ashton happy because she always complains there aren’t any photo’s of the both of us since I’m always taking them.
3.) Hopefully, it was going to give Karin an opportunity to experiment a little without having the pressure of delivering a specific product to her “clients”.
4.) A HUGE selection of Facebook profile pictures ;)
So, we scheduled the date and time, ironed out the details and got on with it. This is my advise to anyone who is going to be photographed:
It can be F.U.N – Once you resign yourself to the fact that you’ll be focusing and paying attention for an hour or two, the rest is fun. It gives you a timeout to not worry about anything else other than what’s happening right there and then, all you need to do is relax and smile every now and then.
The more thought you give to the shoot, the more there is to work with on the day. Think about the look you'd like to achieve and then plan accordingly.
Chat with the photographer. Its interactive. Tell him or her what you want. It helps ;)
And then... ENJOY YOURSELF.... The photographer will take care of the rest and make you look amazing ;)
Karin Coe, thank you for being there when I've needed to rant, needed a backstop at events ;) and most importantly, Thank you for your time, we love the results of the shoot.
